list of the world’s largest cities by population
With more than 72 million inhabitants, Guangzhou, China, is far and away the world’s largest city. But, what defines a city? When you are comparing developments with tens of millions of people located in countries across the globe, a unified definition is tricky—one needs to consider a variety of population groupings, including urban populations, consolidated urban areas, agglomerations, and conglomerations. However, all these groupings have one thing in common: they feature a central city surrounded by contiguous settlements of people. The list below represents the world’s 25 largest such groupings.
rank | central city | country | urban area type | urban area population (2025 est.) | details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Urban population: densely populated and continuous urban settlement. | |||||
2Agglomeration: large, densely and contiguously populated area consisting of a city and its suburbs. | |||||
3Conglomeration: grouping of two or more agglomerations. | |||||
4Consolidated urban area: combination of neighboring urban areas or populations. | |||||
Source: Thomas Brinkhoff: Major Agglomerations of the World. | |||||
1 | Guangzhou | China | urban population1 | 72,700,000 | Includes Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan. |
2 | Shanghai | China | urban population1 | 41,600,000 | Includes Changshu, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Wuxi. |
3 | Tokyo | Japan | agglomeration2 | 41,200,000 | Includes Chiba, Kawasaki, Maebashi, Sagamihara, Saitama, Utsunomiya, and Yokohama. |
4 | Delhi | India | conglomeration3 | 35,700,000 | Includes Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram. |
5 | Jakarta | Indonesia | agglomeration2 | 29,500,000 | Includes Bekasi, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Tangerang Selatan. |
6 | Manila | Philippines | agglomeration2 | 27,800,000 | Includes Caloocan and Quezon City |
7 | Mumbai | India | conglomeration3 | 27,600,000 | Includes Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Ulhasnagar, and Vasai-Virar. |
8 | Mexico City | Mexico | consolidated urban area4 | 25,400,000 | Includes Nezahualcóyotl, Ecatepec, and Naucalpan. |
9 | Seoul | South Korea | consolidated urban area4 | 25,200,000 | Includes Bucheon, Goyang, Incheon, Seongnam, and Suwon. |
10 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | agglomeration2 | 23,100,000 | |
11 | Cairo | Egypt | agglomeration2 | 22,800,000 | Includes Giza and Shubrā al-Khaymah. |
12 | São Paulo | Brazil | agglomeration2 | 22,600,000 | Includes Guarulhos. |
13 | Bangkok | Thailand | agglomeration2 | 21,800,000 | |
13 | New York City | U.S. | consolidated urban area4 | 21,800,000 | Includes Bridgeport, Newark, and New Haven. |
15 | Beijing | China | urban population1 | 21,500,000 | |
16 | Lagos | Nigeria | 21,300,000 | Source notes low reliability. | |
17 | Karachi | Pakistan | agglomeration2 | 21,000,000 | |
18 | Moscow | Russia | agglomeration2 | 18,800,000 | |
19 | Chengdu | China | urban population1 | 18,100,000 | |
20 | Kolkata | India | conglomeration3 | 17,900,000 | Includes Haora. |
21 | Ōsaka | Japan | agglomeration2 | 17,700,000 | Includes Himeji, Kōbe, Kyōto, and Sakai. |
22 | Los Angeles | U.S. | consolidated urban area4 | 17,100,000 | Includes Anaheim and Riverside. |
23 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | consolidated urban area4 | 16,800,000 | Includes San Justo and La Plata. |
23 | Tehrān | Iran | agglomeration2 | 16,800,000 | Includes Karaj. |
25 | Kinshasa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 16,300,000 | Source notes low reliability. |